Latch set



Jan. 15, 1963 G. MOBURNIE 3,073,640

LATCH SET 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 28, 1960 mun/r02 STUART G- MBURNIE 8r JMM & HTTORAIEVI Jan. 15, 1963 s. G. MOBURNIE 3,073,640

LATCH SET Filed June 28, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 68 LIZB M/Vt'A/TOR STUART G. MBURNIE Jan. 15, 1963 s. G. MGBURNIE 3,073,6

LATCH SET Filed June 28, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mvn/rok STUART G. M BURNIE By W a d- T'TOR/VEW 3,073,640 LATCH SET tuart G. Mciiurnie, Box 383, Westview, British Qolumbia, Canada Filed (lune 28, 1960, Ser. No. 39,261 12 Elairns. (Cl. 292-254) This invention relates to latch sets particularly for in side doors, but which may be made for outer doors as well.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a latch set which does not require any lubrication, and is silent in operation.

Another object is the provision of a latch set which cannot be opened from the outside with a knife blade or similar article.

A further object is the provision of a latch set which does not have any protruding parts, such as the strike plate of latches now in common use; thereby eliminating the possibility of catching clothing.

A further object is the provision of a latch set which requires very little movement for operation, and yet holds a door securely closed.

A still further object is the provision of a latch set which may be locked from one side of a door, and nor- 4 mally cannot be unlocked from the other door side, and yet in an emergency can be unlocked from said other side.

A still further object is the provision of a device of the nature described which may be made in different colors, and may be planed or sanded to make a perfect flush fitting within a door and a door jarnb.

With these and other objects in view, a latch set according to the present invention comprises, in combination, a latch plate adapted to be mounted on an edge of a door, a stop on the latch plate, a keeper adapted to be mounted on a'door jamb opposite the latch plate when the door is closed, said keeper being normally biased outwardly of the jamb and engaging said stop of the closed door to keep the latter closed, pressure means at the latch plate operable to disengage the keeper from the stop to release the door, and knob means at the pressure means to operate said pressure means to disengage the keeper.

An example of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

FIGURE 1 illustrates a portion of a door and a door jamb, showing the inner knob of the latch set in elevation,

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal section through the latch set taken substantially on the line 22 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section through the set taken on the line 3--3 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 5 is a cross section taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 66 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, illustrating the unlatching action of the set,

FIGURE 8 is a section taken substantially on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7,

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of part of the set that is mounted in a door,

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of the portion of the set to be mounted in a door jamb, and

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged section taken on the line 11-11 of FIGURE 10.

Referring to the drawings, 10 is a door mounted within a door jam-b 11. When the door is closed, the vertical edge 12 thereof fits in a notch 13 formed on the jamb by a vertical stop strip 14 secured to said jamb. Door 10 has an inner face 15 and an outer face 16. In order to prepare the door for the latch set, it is only necessary Bfififidll Patented Jan. 15, 1963 em. I

2 to drill a fairly large hole 17 transversely through the door spaced inwardly from edge 12 and at a level where it is desired to have the door knobs. A smaller passage 13 is drilled in the door inwardly from edge 12 thereof to hole 17 substantially in line with the longitudinal axis of the latter hole.

A preferred form of latch set 20 is mounted in door 10 and jamb 11. The latch set 29 includes a latch plate 25 mounted on door edge 12. This plate preferably is countersunk into the door edge so that its outer face 26 is fiush with edge 12. Plate 25 is relatively thick, and is preferably formed of a suitable plastic. This plate has a bore 28 extending therethrough. A stop is mounted on or formed in latch plate 25. In this example, the stop is in the form of a shoulder 30 formed by a notch 31 in said plate. It will be noted that stop 30 is close to bore 28 and faces substantially towards the inner face 15 of the door.

A keeper 36 is mounted on door jamb 11 opposite latch plate 25 when door 10 is closed. This keeper is normally biased outwardly of the jamb and engages stop 30 to keep the door closed.

In the preferred form of the invention, keeper 36 is hingedly mounted in a housing 38 mounted on jamb 11. This housing is preferably recessed into the jamb so that its outer face 39 is flush with the bottom 4-0 of notch 13. Housing 38 is preferably formed from a relatively thick piece of suitable plastic material, and keeper 36 also is preferably made out of plastic material. Housing 38 has an interior 42 in which the keeper is located. Keeper 36 includes hinge means in the form of a pintle 44 intee grally formed therewith and projecting above and below the keeper, as clearly shown in FIGURES 3 and 7. The ends of pintle 44 fit into grooves 45 and 46 formed at the top and bottom of the interior 42 of housing 38, said grooves extending inwardly from the rear surface 47 of housing 38, but terminating short of the outer face 39 thereof. Means is provided for normally resiliently swinging keeper 36 outwardly of housing 38. This may be done by means of a suitable spring, but in this example, a piece of soft rubber 50 is located in the housing behind the keeper so that the latter may be swung into the housing only by depressing this rubber, as shown in FIGURE 8. The rubber normally keeps the keeper projecting outwardly from housing 38, as shown in FIGURE 2. Suitable stop means is provided for limiting the outward swinging movement of the keeper. This may be accomplished by providing a stop surface 53 in housing 38 adjacent the keeper pintle 44. The adjacent edge of the keeper abuts against stop surface 53 when the keeper swings outwardly a predetermined distance.

Pressure means is provided in set 2d at latch plate 25 which is operable to disengage keeper 36 from stop 30 to release door 10. In addition to this, knob means is provided at the pressure means to operate said pressure means to disengage the keeper. In this example, the pressure means is in the form of a pin 55 slidably mounted in bore 28 of latch plate 25 and extending inwardly through passage 18 of door 10. This pin is formed with or has connected thereto a yoke 57 having a pair of free ends 58 and 59. Suitable means is provided for normally urging pin 55 inwardly of the door, and this may be in the form of a coil spring 62 around the pin and hearing against latch plate 25 and a shoulder 63 formed by yoke 57.

A shaft 68 extends through hole 17 in door 10 and transversely of said door. In some forms of the invention, this shaft may be solid and formed plastic or other suitable material, but in this example, the shaft is in the form of a tube formed of metal for the sake of strength, although a plastic tube may be used. The ends 58 and 59 of yoke 57 span shaft 68 substantially midway between the ends therof. An annular block 72 surrounds shaft 68 and is connected thereto in any suitable manner, such as a screw 73. This block has a slot 75 therein into which yoke 57 extends, see FIGURES 3, 7 and 8. Slot 75 has ends 79 and 36 adjacent yoke ends 58 and 59 respectively, which act as projections from shaft 68 to press against said ends on rotation of the shaft in either direction to move pin 55 outwardly to disengage the keeper 36 from stop 39. If shaft 63 were formed of plastic material, block 72 could be made integral therewith.

A pair of escutcheon plates 34 and 35 slida'uly fit on shaft 68. These plates are large enough to cover hole 17 in the door, and they are preferably made out of a suitable plastic material. These plates are held in place against the faces of the door by a plurality of screws 87 which extend through one plate, for example, plate 84, and are threaded into the other plate, plate 85, see FIG- URES 2, 3 and 7. If desired, a pair of face plates 3% and 90 are slidably mounted on shaft 7 8 outside escutcheon plates 84 and 85, respectively. These face plates cover the ends of screws 87. If desired, plates 89 and 99 may be formed with inwardly-projecting pins 92 and 93 which fit into corresponding notches 94 and 95 in plates 84 and 85 is order to keep said face plates from rotating.

Knobs 98 and 99 are mounted on the ends of shaft 68 in any convenient manner, such as by set screws 161 and 102, see FIGURE 2. If desired, outer knob 98 may be permanently secured to the shaft in any convenient manner, such as gluing, or by riveting. Knobs $8 and 99 are preferably formed of a suitable plastic. This makes it possible to produce a variety of different shapes, and to produce knobs of many different colors. Similarly, the face plates and/or escutcheon plates may be of any desired color. For the sake of convenience in molding and in order to save material, knobs 98 and 99 may be hollow, :as indicated at 105 and 166. In this case, the outer ends are closed by covers 103 and 109 which fit snugly within said ends. Knobs 98 and 99 are also formed with suitably shaped passages 110 and 111 into which the ends of shaft 68 snugly fit. The knobs extend along the shaft up to face plates 89 and 90, and, therefore, retain these plates in position.

The latch set described so far may be used in doors that do not need to be locked or have other locking means. However, if desired, latch set 29 may be provided with its own locking means.

A locking arm 115 is located in and extends longitudinally of hollow shaft 68. This arm is pivotally mounted in the shaft in any convenient manner. In this example, set screw 73 of block '72 is provided with an extension 117 within shaft 68 and upon which arm 115 is swingably mounted. Extension 117 is in the form of a pin having a groove 118 therein into which arm 115 fits. This arm is provided with inner handle means 120 which in this example, is actually a prolongation of the arm. This handle means or arm extends through a slot 122 of cover 109 of inner knob 99. A cap 123 is mounted on the outer end of the arm and frictionally engages the outer surface of cover 109 to retain the locking arm in any set position.

Locking arm 115 has one or more locking lugs projecting outwardly therefrom. The illustrated arm has lugs 126 and 127 projecting outwardly from the upper and lower edges thereof and through holes 123- and 129 formed in shaft 68. It will be noted that lugs 126 and 127 are on opposite sides of pivot pin 117 so that arm 115 may be swung to move the lugs outwardly through their respective shaft holes, and inwardly to retract the lugs within the shaft. When lugs 126 and 127 are in their outer positions, as shown in FIGURE 6 they project into recesses 132 and 133 formed in escutcheon plates 85 and 84, respectively, so that these plates act as stationary means adjacent shaft 68 for receiving the lugs to prevent rotation of the shaft.

Latch set 20 may be used on inside or outer doors.

For example, it may be used on bathroom doors since the door is locked merely by moving cap 123 on the handle means 12$ to move lugs 126 and 127 to their outer positions, at which time, shaft 63 cannot be rotated so that keeper 36 cannot be dislodged from stop 39. The latch set is improved for this purpose by providing means for unlocking it from outside the door in an emergency, such as when a young child locks himself in and becomes too frightened to operate the lock, or a person becomes incapacitated and cannot release himself. For this purpose, locking arm 115 may be provided with an extension or outer handle means 137 within shaft 68 and extending towards outer knob 98. A small hole 139 is formed in knob 98 and the adjacent portion of shaft 68, said hole being aligned with arm extension 137. If it becomes impossible for a person on the inside of the door to unlock the latch set, a small instrument may be inserted in hole 139 to move extension 137 to shift lugs 126 and 127 to their inner positions, at which time, shaft 68 may be rotated to open the door.

The operation of latch set 2% is very simple. Shaft 68 may be rotated by turning either knob 98 or 99. This causes either projection 79 or to bear against yoke end 58 or 5% to move pin 55 outwardly through latch plate 25 against the pressure of spring 62. The outer end of the pin engages keeper 36 and swings it clear of step 30 against rubber 50. As soon as the keeper clears the stop, and very little movement is required to do this, the door may be swung open. As soon as the door clears the keeper, it returns to its normal outwardly-extending position. At this time, the outer surface of the keeper is inclined relative to the outer face of the door so that when the door is closed, it engages the keeper and moves along this inclined surface, which action swings the keeper back into its housing 38. As soon as the vertical edge of the keeper clears stop or shoulder 30, the keeper swings into notch 31 and engates the stop to hold the door closed.

The construction of latch set 20 is very simple and lends itself to the use of plastics. As there is extremely little friction involved, no lubrication is required. Furthermore, the latch set operates without any noise such as is experienced with the latch sets in common use today. The use of plastics makes it possible to make the set in many different colors, and the various elements thereof, and particularly latch plate 25 and housing 38, may be sanded or planed to make them flush with the surfaces in which they are mounted. The use of plastics eliminates rust or deterioration, and the set will not be affected by changing temperature and atmospheric conditions.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A latch set comprising, in combination, a latch plate adapted to be mounted on an edge of a door, a stop on the latch plate, a keeper adapted to be mounted on a door jamb opposite the latch plate when the door is closed, said keeper being normally biased outwardly of the jamb and engaging said stop of the closed door to keep the latter closed, pressure means at the latch plate operable to disengage the keeper from the stop to release the door, a hollow shaft adapted to extend transversely through a door adjacent the pressure means, means on the shaft to operate said pressure means on rotation of the shaft to disengage the keeper, knobs on the ends of the shaft, a locking arm pivotally mounted in the shaft and extending longitudinally thereof, handle means connected to the arm and extending out of the shaft, a lug on the arm aligned with a hole in the shaft, said lug being movable from an outer position projecting from the shaft to an inner position by movement of the arm by the handle means about the pivot mounting of said arm, and stationary means adjacent the shaft and the lug for receiving said lug when in its outer position to prevent rotation of the shaft.

2. A latch set comprising, in combination, a latch plate adapted to be mounted on an edge of a door, a stop on the,

latch plate, a keeper adapted to be mounted on a door jamb opposite the latch plate when the door is closed, said keeper being normally biased outwardly of the jamb and engaging said stop of the closed door to keep the latter closed, pressure means at the latch plate operable to disengage the keeper from the stop to release the door, a hollow shaft adapted to extend transversely through a door adjacent the pressure means, means on the shaft to operate said pressure means on rotation of the shaft to disengage the keeper, knobs on the ends of the shaft, a locking arm pivotally mounted in the shaft and extending longitudinally thereof, inner handle means connected to the arm and extending out of the shaft near one end thereof, outer handle means connected to the arm within the shaft near the opposite end thereof, a small first hole in the shaft aligned with said outer handle means, a lug on the arm aligned with a second hole in the shaft, said lug being movable from an outer position projecting from the shaft to an inner position by movement of the arm about the pivot mounting thereof, and stationary means adjacent the shaft and the lug for receiving said lug when in its outer position to prevent rotation of the shaft, said arm being movable either by the inner handle means or through the outer handle means by a small instrument inserted through said first hole.

3. A latch set comprising, in combination, a latch plate adapted to be mounted on an edge of a door, a stop on the latch plate, a keeper adapted to be mounted on a door jamb opposite the latch plate when the door is closed, said keeper being normally biased outwardly of the jamb and engaging said stop of the closed door to keep the latter closed, pressure means at the latch plate operable to disengage the keeper from the stop to release the door, a hollow shaft adapted to extend transversely through a door adjacent the pressure means, means on the shaft to operate said pressure means on rotation of the shaft to disengage the keeper, knobs on the ends of the shaft, a locking arm pivotally mounted in the shaft and extending longitudinally thereof and out through one of the knobs, a lug on the arm aligned with a hole in the shaft, said lug being movable from an outer position projecting from the shaft to an inner position by movement of the arm about the pivot mounting thereof, and stationary means adjacent the shaft and the lug for receiving said lug when in its outer position to prevent rotation of the shaft.

4. A latch set as claimed in claim 3 including an extension of the arm towards the end of the shaft opposite the end carrying the knob through which the arm extends, and a small hole in the shaft aligned with said arm extension whereby a small instrument may be inserted into said hole to move the extension and the arm to shift the lug to the inner position thereof.

5. A latch set comprising, in combination, a latch plate adapted to be mounted on an edge of a door and having outer and inner edges adjacent outer and inner faces of said door, said plate having a notch therein and opening outwardly of the door edge, a stop shoulder in the plate within and at the bottom of said notch and inclined to face towards the plate inner edge, a short keeper adapted to be mounted on a door jamb opposite the latch plate when the door is closed, said keeper being normally biased outwardly of the jamb and having an outer edge fitting in said notch and inclined to engage said inclined stop shoulder and bearing against the bottom of said notch of the closed door to keep the latter closed, said keeper having an inner surface normally inclined to the latch plate and facing the outer edge of said plate to present an inwardly-inclined surface towards the outer face of the door when the latter is closed, a pin slidably mounted in the latch plate and extending inwardly therefrom relative to the door, said pin having an outer end near the stop shoulder and being aligned with the keeper in engagement with said shoulder, and knob means at the opposite end 'of the pin for moving said pin outwardly to disengage the keeper from the stop shoulder.

6. A latch set comprising, in combination, a latch plate adapted to be mounted on an edge of a door and having outer and inner edges adjacent outer and inner faces of said door, said plate having a notch therein and opening outwardly of the door edge, a stop shoulder in the plate within and at the bottom of said notch and inclined to face towards the plate inner edge, a short keeper adapted to be mounted on a door jamb opposite the latch plate when the door is closed, said keeper being hingedly mounted and swingable towards and away from the latch plate and having an outer edge fitting in said notch and inclined to engage said inclined stop shoulder and bearing against the bottom of said notch of the closed door to keep the latter closed, said keeper having an inner surface normally inclined to the latch plate and facing the outer edge of said plate to present an inwardly-inclined surface towards the outer face of the door when the latter is closed, a pin slidably mounted in the latch plate and extending inwardly therefrom relative to the door, said pin having an outer end near the stop shoulder and being aligned with the keeper in engagement with said shoulder, and knob means at the opposite end of the pin for moving said pin outwardly to disengage the keeper from the stop shoulder.

7. A latch set as claimed in claim 5 in which the latch plate, pin and keeper are formed of plastic to eliminate noise.

8. A latch set comprising, in combination, a latch plate adapted to be mounted on an edge of a door, a stop on the latch plate, a housing adapted to be mounted on a door jamb opposite the latch plate when the door is closed and opening towards said plate, a keeper having inner and outer edges hingedly mounted in said housing and swingable towards and away from the latch plate, a pintle on the keeper at the inner edge thereof and projecting above and below the keeper, slots in the housing in which the pintle fits, a resilient pad in the. housing and beneath the keeper and extending from near the keeper pintle to wards the keeper outer edge, said pad bearing against the keeper normally to urge said keeper outwardly towards the latch plate, stop means limiting the outward movement of the keeper, the outer edge of said keeper engaging the stop of the closed door to keep the latter closed, pressure means at the latch plate operable to disengage the keeper from the stop to release the door, and knob means at the pressure means to operate said pressure means to disengage the keeper.

9. A latch set comprising, in combination, a latch plate adapted to be mounted on an edge of a door and having outer and inner edges adjacent outer and inner faces of said door, said plate having a notch therein and opening outwardly of the door edge, a stop shoulder inthe plate within and at the bottom of said notch and inclined to face towards the plate inner edge, a housing adapted to be mounted on a door jamb opposite the latch plate when the door is closed and opening towards said plate, a short keeper having inner and outer edges hingedly mounted in said housing and swingable towards and away from the latch plate, a pintle on the keeper adjacent the inner edge thereof and projecting above and below the keeper, slots in the housing in which the pintle fits, a resilient pad in the housing and beneath the keeper and extending from near the keeper pintle towards the keeper outer edge, said pad bearing against the keeper normally to urge said keeper outwardly towards the latch plate, the outer edge of said keeper fitting in said notch and inclined to engage the inclined stop shoulder and bearing against the bottom of said notch of the closed door to keep the latter closed, said keeper having an inner surface normally inclined to the latch plate and facing the outer edge of said plate to present an inwardly-inclined surface towards the outer face of the door when the latter is closed, pressure means at the latch plate operable to disengage the keeper from the stop shoulder to release the door, and knob means at 7 the pressure means to operate said pressure means to disengage the keeper.

10. A latch set comprising, in combination, a latch plate adapted to be mounted on an edge of a door, a stop on the latch plate, a keeper adapted to be mounted on a door jamb opposite the latch plate when the door is closed, said keeper being normally biased outwardly of the jamb and engaging said stop of the closed door to keep the latter closed, a pin slidably mounted in the latch plate and extending inwardly therefrom relative to the door, said pin having an outer end near the stop and being aligned with the keeper in engagement with the stop, a shaft adapted to extend transversely through a relatively larger hole in a door adjacent the opposite end of the pin, a large annular block fixed to and surrounding the shaft within said large hole and having a slot therein aligned with the pin, a yoke on said opposite end of the pin and slidably fitting in the block slot, spaced escutcheon plates on the shaft large enough to cover the door hole, screws extending through one escutcheon plate and threaded into the other to hold said plates against opposite faces of the door and to support the shaft in the door hole, shoulders formed on the block in the block slot References tCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 120,419 Crossman et a1 Oct. 31, 1871 343,348 Taylor June 8, 1886 1,791,029 Hurd Feb. 3, 1931 2,238,066 Mantz Apr. 15, 1941 2,499,165 Roethel Feb. 28, 1950 2,655,398 Birbaum Oct. 13, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 476,167 Canada Aug. 14, 1951 

5. A LATCH SET COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A LATCH PLATE ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON AN EDGE OF A DOOR AND HAVING OUTER AND INNER EDGES ADJACENT OUTER AND INNER FACES OF SAID DOOR, SAID PLATE HAVING A NOTCH THEREIN AND OPENING OUTWARDLY OF THE DOOR EDGE, A STOP SHOULDER IN THE PLATE WITHIN AND AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID NOTCH AND INCLINED TO FACE TOWARDS THE PLATE INNER EDGE, A SHORT KEEPER ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON A DOOR JAMB OPPOSITE THE LATCH PLATE WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED, SAID KEEPER BEING NORMALLY BIASED OUTWARDLY OF THE JAMB AND HAVING AN OUTER EDGE FITTING IN SAID NOTCH AND INCLINED TO ENGAGE SAID INCLINED STOP SHOULDER AND BEARING AGAINST THE BOTTOM OF SAID NOTCH OF THE CLOSED DOOR TO KEEP THE LATTER CLOSED, SAID KEEPER HAVING AN INNER SURFACE NORMALLY INCLINED TO THE LATCH PLATE AND FACING THE OUTER EDGE OF SAID PLATE TO PRESENT AN INWARDLY-INCLINED SURFACE TOWARDS THE OUTER FACE OF THE DOOR WHEN THE LATTER IS CLOSED, A PIN SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN THE LATCH PLATE AND EXTENDING INWARDLY THREFROM RELATIVE TO THE DOOR, SAID PIN HAVING AN OUTER END NEAR THE STOP SHOULDER AND BEING ALIGNED WITH THE KEEPER IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SHOULDER, AND KNOB MEANS AT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE PIN FOR MOVING SAID PIN OUTWARDLY TO DISENGAGE THE KEEPER FROM THE STOP SHOULDER. 